Vikings Coach Emerges as Bears Coordinator Candidate
The Minnesota Vikings have been on coach watch for weeks as defensive coordinator Brian Flores has drawn some interest from the Jaguars, Bears, and Jets for their vacant head coach spots. However, all three have hired different candidates. While there could be some late traction with the Saints or Raiders, so far, it looks like Minnesota’s top defensive coach will stay put.
Vikings Coach Emerges as Bears Coordinator Candidate
Among other coaches getting some attention are the two quarterbacks coaches: Josh McCown and Grant Udinski. The latter is on multiple coordinator lists, and McCown interviewed for the Jets HC spot.
Back to the defensive side, defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Daronte Jones has been requested for an interview for Chicago’s defensive coordinator position, according to Ian Rapoport.
On Thursday, the insider reported on X: “The Bears requested to interview Vikings passing game coordinator/DBs coach Daronte Jones for their defensive coordinator position, source said. Jones is highly respected having worked with defensive minds such as Brian Flores, Vance Joseph, and Marvin Lewis, among others.”
His playing days were cut short because of various injuries in college; Jones started his coaching career in 2001 as a graduate assistant with Lenoir-Rhyne.
He worked through the college ranks for one-and-a-half decades and got his first job in the NFL as the assistant defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2016. His next steps were to coach the cornerbacks for the Bengals and to coach the defensive backs with the Vikings under Mike Zimmer in 2020.
After only one year with the Vikings, he then took LSU’s defensive coordinator position in 2021 but he was not retained by incoming head coach Brian Kelly in the following campaign and subsequently returned to Minnesota under the new regime, becoming Kevin O’Connell’s DB coach in 2022. He survived the defensive coordinator change from Ed Donatell to Flores.
His defensive backs have not particularly flourished. Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth, and Akayleb Evans flamed out, and so did Cameron Dantzler. However, the fact that he keeps getting jobs with the Vikings shows how much they value him.
Jones has always been a popular name when it comes to listing potential successors for Flores as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator.
The Bears hired Detroit’s offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, as their new head coach. He was viewed as the top candidate in consecutive offseasons and finally accepted the job to become Caleb Williams’ top mentor.
The NFC North is stacked with coaching talent. Dan Campbell and Kevin O’Connell guided their teams to a combined 29 regular season wins this year, and Matt LaFleur’s Packers are always relevant. Detroit also lost defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the Jets, and both Minnesota’s and Green Bay’s defensive coordinators received some buzz.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt